Metatarsal arch supporting pad



April 1, 1952 w. M. SCHOLL 2,591,378

METATARSAL ARCH SUPPQRTING PAD Filed Nov. 50, 1949 [Hz E17 f 0.2

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Patented Apr. 1, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE? METATARSAL ARCH SUPPORTING PAD William M. Scholl, Chicago, Ill.

Application November 30, 1949, Serial No. 130,247

2 Claims.

-This invention relates to improvements in a metatarsal arch supporting pad, and more particularly to a foot corrective appliance highly desirable for lending corrective aid and support to the anterior or metatarsal arch of the human vfoot, the device being applied to the foot itself rather than in an article of footwear, although the invention may have other uses and purposes as will be apparent to one skilled in the art.

Weak muscle structure in the human foot frequently permits the anterior orw metatarsal arch to lose its arched form or drop, and this creates an imbalance to the foot. Most frequently the result takes form in a depression or dropping of the second, third and fourth To rectify such a condition, some support, preferably a padding, must be placed beneath those depressed metatarsal heads in order to restore them to normal position. In the past, many devices have been developed for this particular purpose. These formerly known idevices, however, could not be positioned with the desired degree of accuracy, at least with promptness and dispatch, especially where they were applied to the insole of a shoe or other article of footwear, and in many cases where they were applied directly to the foot of the user. Further, in no instance of which I am aware has a metatarsal arch supporting device been heretofore developed of the correct shape to lend proper corrective aid to a metatarsal arch. In every instance of which I am aware,

such metatarsal arch supports have heretofore been constructed, insofar as the actual supporting element itself is concerned, to be used with either foot, whereas actually a support properly shaped to give the correct beneficial aid to the metatarsal arch of the left foot is not properly shaped to give the same beneficial aid to the metatarsal arch of a right foot.

With the foregoing in mind, it is an important object of the instant invention to provide a metatarsal arch supporting device which is made individually for a left or right foot, and correctly shaped to give the proper support to the metatarsal arch of the foot the pad is designed to fit.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a metatarsal supporting device including a supporting pad which tapers in all directions from a thicker intermediate portion to a fine surrounding edge, but which pad has the thicker portion thereof to one side of the median longitudinal axis of the pad.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a metatarsal arch supporting device including a pad of generally ovate contour and formed of cushioning material, which pad is adhered in an eccentric location to a layer of adhesive tape, by means of which the pad may be quickly attached to the exact and proper location to give most beneficial aid to an individual foot.

It is also a feature of this invention to provide a metatarsal arch supporting device embodying a cushioning pad so shaped that when properly positioned on thefoot will give the greatest support to the normally higher region of themetatarsal arch, as distinguished from pads of this character heretofore known which gave the greatest support substantially to a central region of the metatarsal arch.

Still a further feature of the invention resides in the provision of a metatarsal arch supporting appliance including a pad of cushioning .material having a generally ovate contour attached to a sheet of adhesive material having a generally wide oval contour, with the long axis of the pad disposed at an angle to-both the long and short axesof the adhesive sheet.

While some of the more salient features, characteristics and advantages of the instant invention have been above pointed out, others will become apparent from the following disclosures, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which 7 Figure l is a top plan view of a metatarsal arch supporting appliance embodying principles of the instant invention, with the outlinelof a human foot formed therearound to indicate'fthe manner of application of the appliance;

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view of the structure of Fig. 1, taken substantially as indicated by the line II-II of Fig. 1,. looking in the direction of the arrows, and again illustrating the position of the foot in dotted lines; and 3 Figure 3 is a substantially central vertical sectional view through the appliance taken as indicated by the line III--III of Fig. 1, and again showing the position of the foot in dotted lines.

As shown on the drawings:

In the illustrated embodiment of this invention there is included a sheet I, preferably of fabric such as moleskin fabric, and having an adhesive layer 2 over one face thereof. This adhesive ma Well be of the pressure sensitive type and both the sheet I and the adhesive 2 may be of a flesh tint if so desired. As seen best in Fig. 1 the adhesive bearing sheet preferably has a contour of a wide oval.

. Secured to the adhesive face of the sheet I is a metatarsal arch supporting pad 3. This pad is preferably made of a light, highly resilient, material such as foam latex which has a very high restorative power and will not compact permanently to any noticeable extent even after b in under pressure a considerable length of time. This pad is curvate on one side, that is the side that contacts the foot of the user, and substantially flat on the other side, that is the side that is adhered to the adhesive on the sheet I.

An important feature of the pad 3 is its particu-.

As seen clearly in the drawings, the

lar shape. thickest part of the pad is substantially at the point indicated by numeral 4, and the pad decreases in thickness in all directions away from that point to a relatively thin and/or fine edge entirely around the pad. The general contour of the pad is prefer-ably ovate, and when applied beneath the metatarsal arch of a human foot, the broader end portion of the pad is forward.

The significant feature in the shaping of the pad is the fact that the thickest portion of the pad is to one side of the long axis of the pad. As seen in Fig. 1, the median line of the pad is indicated by the section line III-III, and in this showing the thickest portion of the pad 4 is to the right of the median line, since the illustrated appliance is for a left foot. Preferably, the pad will be thicker from adjacent the forward edge to adjacent the rear edge on a line through the point 4 paralleling the median axis of the pad, than it will be along a similar line on the opposite side of the median line.

In use, the appliance is attached directly to the plantar surface of the foot by means of the exposed adhesive surface 2 on the sheetl around the pad 3 This exposed adhesive surface is not evenly distributed around the pad, but it will be noted from the showing in Fig. 1, that the pad is eceentrically mountedvon that adhesive surface, with the longitudinal axis of the pad disposed at an angle to both the long and short axes of the sheet I. With this arrangement, the pad may be properly positioned beneath the metatarsal arch of the foot, and as seen in Fig. 1 wherein the contour of the foot is indicated by the dotted showin 6, -the adhesive surface 2 around the'pad 3 will be against a substantially unbroken surface of the foot so that the appliance Will securely adhere to the foot. When the appliance is properly positioned on the foot, the pad 3 will underlie the amount of support is given to the foot beneath the opposite side of the third metatarsal head and the fourth metatarsal head, while the first and fifth'metatarsal heads substantially fall off the pad.

For a pad to support the metatarsal arch of the right foot, it will be understood that the arrangement will be substantially the opposite, with the thicker part of the pad on the opposite side of the median line of the pad. I

From the foregoing, it is apparent that I have provided a novel metatarsal arch supporting appliance shaped particularly for a left or a right foot, and so constructed as to be readily and easily positioned on the foot in a precise location, and so constructed as to properly support the metatarsal arch with the maximum pressure or lift beneath what is normally the higher region of the arch. It will be noted that the device is extremely. durable, and may be economically manufactured. 7

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing-from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a metatarsal arch supporting appliance, a sheet of material having the general contour of a wide oval, and a pad of cushioning material having substantially an ovate contour, said pad being carried by said sheet with the long median line of the .pad disposed at an angle to 'both the long and short axes of said sheet, and said sheet carrying means to attach the appliance to the foot of a user.

2. A metatarsal arch supporting device, includ ing a pad of cushioning material of generally ovate contour and thicker to one side of the median line than the other side, a sheet of. material of generally the contour of a Wide oval secured to one face of said pad with both the long and short axes of the sheet disposed obliquely to the long axis of the pad, said sheet being sized to contact only the plantar surface ofthe foot and extending beyond said pad in all directions but more so along its long axis than elsewhere, and an adhesive surface on said sheet outside said pad to provide an adhesive attaching margin entirely around said pad.

WILLIAM M; SCHOLL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date:

1,025,571 Howe May, 7, 1912 p FOREIGN PATENTS.

Number Country 7 Date 445,088 Great Britain Apr. 2, 1936 447,799 Great Britain May 26, 1936 

